Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master

Chapter 1563: Chapter 645: Dao and Principle_2

The volcano dharma form shook violently, and the spewed lava suddenly reversed, pouring onto the Nascent Soul Fire Cultivator himself.

He retreated in shock and anger, trying to extinguish that lamp shadow, but found it grew brighter, feeding on his own soul fire, like maggots following a bone.

The scene froze here.

Vast snowfield.

Snow and wind covered the sky and earth, dyeing the world in a desperate white.

A Nascent Soul Female Cultivator fled upon a snow lotus, her left arm vanished, with thick blood ice forming at the severed point.

Behind her, three figures dashed across the snowfield, their speed not a bit slower than her tunneling light.

Xiang Sishui was chased in the middle, his face pale as paper, with an ice crystal nail piercing his chest, right where his Golden Core was located. Cold air spread from the wound, freezing half of his meridians into an ice sculpture.

If it were any Golden Core Cultivator, they would have long lost mana, lying on the ground waiting for death. Yet, the cold air circulated within the three, evenly distributed by the ’Life and Death Together’ divine skill, allowing them to endure it.

The Nascent Soul Female Cultivator occasionally looked back, her face full of tension and desolation.

She raised her hand and unleashed a snow lotus seal, thousands of ice petals transformed into the sharpest hidden weapons, cutting towards the three.

Xiang Zircan let out a beast-like roar, using his broad chest and scar-covered body to crash into the storm of ice petals, ice blades cut into flesh, the fresh blood soon froze into a new layer of blood-colored ice armor.

He directly tore through the rain of ice petals.

Xiang Hundeng’s white lamp swayed opportunely, the light pierced through the snowstorm, shining on the snow lotus beneath the Nascent Soul Female Cultivator’s feet. The lotus’s tunneling light visibly stagnated for a moment.

Xiang Sishui suddenly pulled out the ice crystal nail from his chest, along with large chunks of frozen flesh, spitting out a mouthful of purple-black clotted blood with ice fragments, pressing both hands heavily on the Death Spring Jade Jar.

Gray-white spring water transformed into a roaring river, rushing out from the snow field fissure, ensnaring the roots of the snow lotus.

The Nascent Soul Female Cultivator’s face turned pale, screaming harshly, "You’re insane! If you keep fighting like this, the Golden Core of you three will crack!"

Xiang Zircan laughed wildly in the wind and snow, "The three brave of Xiang Sect sell their lives; when have we feared cracking the Golden Core!"

Xiang Hundeng’s voice was very calm, yet carried a sense of transcendence of life and death, clearly penetrating the whistling wind, "As long as the employer pays the price, we are willing to die for it."

The Nascent Soul Female Cultivator fell into complete terror.

She no longer had any hope, as her Nascent Soul avatar emerged from her head, intending to flee, but the Life Lamp’s light swiftly descended upon her Nascent Soul avatar.

From the depths of the snowfield came a scream, so tragic that it hardly seemed human.

...

These precious and rare images thoroughly confirm the strength of the three brave of Xiang Sect!

Any one of them, taken individually, holds the battle power of Golden Core Peak, with an extreme advantage in certain aspects.

Life and Death Together divine skill tightly links the three together, achieving a terrifying qualitative change!

The three complement each other’s shortcomings, becoming even stronger. Especially their fearless fighting style, extremely valiant, causing trouble even for Nascent Soul level powerhouses.

Ning Zhuo finished reading the information on the three brave of Xiang Sect and sat quietly for a long time.

He slowly raised his right hand, his fingertip touching the mechanical ring.

He pondered, "If I face them three on one, directly against the three brave of Xiang Sect..."

The mechanical ring suddenly tightened!

The force was so fierce it almost crushed the bone segment.

Ning Zhuo’s expression remained unchanged. He changed his thought: "If I try to divide the battlefield, facing them two on one..."

The mechanical ring tightened further, the force reduced slightly, the pain felt like cold iron teeth biting into the finger bone.

Ning Zhuo continued to test: "If I set traps, like a divine domain, targeting only one among the three brave of Xiang Sect..."

The mechanical ring constricted again! This time the pain was the least, but still felt like a red-hot iron needle piercing the flesh.

Ning Zhuo slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

He was not surprised about this result.

Xiang Hundeng’s divine soul is like an abyss, Xiang Sishui’s mana like a river, Xiang Zircan’s body like a beast, spirit, energy, essence, the three mutually support each other like a perfect equilateral triangle.

The injuries of the three are equally shared, and the frontal reinforcement can also be allocated from one to the other two.

Fighting any one of them is equivalent to facing the other two simultaneously. The idea of dividing the battlefield is impossible under the Life and Death Together divine ability!

What’s more daunting is that the combat experience of these three is exceedingly rich. It’s hard to expect them to make mistakes in the intense battle filled with the threat of death.

In this regard, the Flowing Gold Guest was clearly in a state of imbalance in the three battles, eager to prove himself, gradually allowing Ning Zhuo to take the initiative.

Ning Zhuo estimated that if he fought one against three, he would essentially be suppressed throughout the entire battle!

Ning Zhuo examined himself.

His foundation in the Five Elements Magic is deep, and the Five Viscera Divine Skill can forcibly push the spells to the Golden Core level, but his cultivation level is ultimately stuck at the Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, with a total mana amount like a shallow boat sailing, unable to withstand prolonged dueling.

The Mechanical Techniques are formidable, and the Mechanical Artifacts are numerous, with the Snow-colored Girl·Hui, Snow Core Control·Xie, and The Humbleheart Broken-Blade Guard all being routinely usable Golden Core level combat power. However, Yuan Dasheng and Mengye Tiger are still recovering, the Mechanical Bird Group was greatly damaged in the battle with Flowing Gold Guest, and the Mysterious Armor, Soul Absorption Box, and The Humbleheart Broken-Blade Guard all require time for repairs.

Mechanism Cultivators have always been able to stack combat power with artifacts, but they are most afraid of high-intensity consumption and subsequent logistical difficulties.

The Defensive Wheel Slash Formation can protect and also rotate between offense and defense, but it relies on the Mysterious Armor as the array eye, borrowing from the principle of weaponry, the variability of formations, and the momentum of close combat. But after all, it’s a new method, barely developed, and definitely not enough against the Three Brave of Xiang Sect’s siege!

The true Soldier Dao lies in leading troops into battle, using military power to replace one’s mana, soul power, etc., leveraging to higher levels of combat power. His Qing Jiao Army is far away in White Paper Immortal City, and the Myriad Images Sect’s martial grounds would never allow him to lead a large army for a one-person siege.

As for the Life Hanging Thread, Buddha Heart Demon Seal, Luoshu Book Pages, these are his deepest trump cards, whether they can be used, the cost, and what repercussions will follow need to be meticulously weighed on a balance scale.

The Blood Ash Tinder has also been exposed, losing its effectiveness for a surprise attack.

"Although I have an impressive battle record, it actually has great limitations. In the Thousand Peak Forest battle, I leveraged military power. In the Wangchuan Underworld battle, I benefited from the layout of predecessors, only making the final blow."

It’s like a gigantic stone ball being placed on the edge of a cliff, just a fine line away from falling. At this moment, a child’s finger gently touches it, triggering the terrifying roll-off tumble.

"In addition, it’s also because of the suppression of my Buddha Heart Demon Seal, which allows me to maintain my Qi Fortune."

Ning Zhuo was humble and cautious, always having a clear understanding of himself.

Although he is only at Foundation Establishment Mid-stage, he repeatedly defeated cultivators with higher cultivation levels, all under certain conditions. It’s because he can leverage stronger combat power.

This is the Golden Age of Cultivation!

People have reached a certain peak in profound understanding and clever application of principles.

Cultivation level is only part of the formula for combat power. In ancient times it was the main factor, but with the prosperity of the cultivation world, it has already been relegated to the corner.

The strength of the Soldier Dao is through military power replacing mana, bypassing the weakness of cultivation level. Excellent Mechanical Artifacts come together as a whole, not even requiring the master to have any cultivation level!

The Three Brave of Xiang Sect have repeatedly slain Nascent Soul Cultivators across realms because they leveraged stronger combat power through divine abilities.

What is divine ability?

Divine abilities are the ultimate principles of heaven and earth!

Ning Zhuo has the possibility of defeating the Three Brave of Xiang Sect. For instance, by releasing seventeen or eighteen Nascent Soul Level Spiritual Mechanical Combat Dolls. Or, by commanding several powerful Transforming Spirit Level demon pet spirit beasts.

But among these, what is involved are Mechanical Techniques and Beast Taming Skills.

These cultivation techniques are actual applications of following principles.

If Ning Zhuo were the only child of some great figure, with a background reaching the heavens, and had Transforming Spirit Level servants, it would also work.

But this is fate, or luck.

This is also a manifestation of the principles of heaven and earth.

The divination skills in the Cultivation Hundred Skills study precisely this aspect.

Ning Zhuo’s cultivation journey to this day is because he is favored by fate, with a profound realm, humble and meticulous nature, and because he occupies both the Dao and the principle.

Even with weak cultivation, it doesn’t matter; he often manages to leverage out greater combat power, able to fight!

But now, he faces the Three Brave of Xiang Sect, who wield divine abilities, also possessing deep advantages in principles, each one having Golden Core Peak Cultivation. In this respect, they far surpass Ning Zhuo’s weaknesses in cultivation.

"If Yuan Dasheng and Mengye Tiger could fight, my pressure would be drastically reduced. But even so, they have virtually no experience in coordinated battle, let alone tacit understanding."

The Wangchuan Underworld battle, although Ning Zhuo was victorious, he is still affected by the war damage up to now.

"Winning one against three is exceedingly difficult."

"Fortunately, someone has already taken the initiative to support me. And surely, it won’t be just this one benefactor."

"This is the manifestation of Tribulation Fate."

"If I can get through this difficulty, who knows to what extent I can digest this Tribulation Fate?"